PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit by 20 states that challenges President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
The 82-page motion filed in U.S. District Court in Pensacola says the suit lacks jurisdiction over some of the claims raised in the suit, and says there is no claim mentioned therein where relief can be granted.
The lawsuit, brought by the states, National Federation of Independent Business and some individual taxpayers, claims the bill that mandates health coverage is unconstitutional.
The Justice Department said mandating the purchase of insurance is an exercise of Congress' constitutional power to tax and spend. Sept. 14 is the hearing date on the motion to dismiss. … [Read more...]

Orlando, Fla. Three Florida A&M University (FAMU) College of Law students were selected to participate in the 2010 Florida Bar Foundation Legal Services Summer Fellowship Program.
Second-year law students Sopi Mitil and Johnathon Wright and first-year law student Matthew McLain are among 15 percent of all applicants chosen to participate in the 11-week program over the summer, which began May 24, and continues through August 6.
The Florida Bar Foundation received 270 applications from in-state law students and 60 applications from out of state law students. A total of 40 students were selected to participate this year.
Mitil was placed with the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association, a bar sponsored, general legal services provider serving indigent clients primarily in Orange County. Depending on the assignment, the fellow could work in the areas of family, … [Read more...]

DOTTIE PARIS, The Florida Law Journal June 7, 2010
ORLANDO -- Frank M. Bedell, shareholder with Winderweedle, Haines, Ward & Woodman, P.A., was installed as 2010-2011 president of the Orange County Bar Association (OCBA) at The Ballroom at Church Street in downtown Orlando .
Retired Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles T. Wells performed the swearing in before an audience of 300 OCBA members, families, and guests.
The Honorable Lawrence R. Kirkwood, Ninth Judicial Circuit Court judge, gave the keynote speech, and the Honorable Emerson R. Thompson, Jr., Senior Judge of the Fifth District Court of Appeal, gave the invocation.
Bedell has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors for The Florida Bar, as President of the Young Lawyers Division of The Florida Bar, as Chair of the Annual Meeting Committee of The Florida Bar, and as Chair of the … [Read more...]

Courtesy of Mesothelioma attorneys:Cooney & Conway
MIAMI -- Four decades after inhaling the asbestos fibers that would ultimately cause his deadly cancer, a Florida man was awarded more than $14 million by a Miami-Dade jury. The defendant in the asbestos lawsuit, chemical giant Union Carbide, was found negligent for selling asbestos fibers to other companies, which then used the asbestos to make compounds used by construction companies.
The family of the plaintiff, William Aubin, owned one of those construction companies: Aubin Construction. Aubin and other employeesunaware of the hazardsregularly used the asbestos-laden products, which were never labeled as containing the material, according to Aubins mesothelioma lawyer, Juan Bauta.
Aubin was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma, which attacks the lining of the abdominal cavity and related organs. Bauta said: He is … [Read more...]

STAFF REPORT
GAINESVILLE -- A plaintiffs attorney group has challenged the Florida law that caps appellate bonds for cigarette makers.
A state law put in place in 2003 and which was revised last year, caps the total amount tobacco companies pay at $200 million.
But John Mills of Jacksonville, and three Gainesville trial attorneys are looking to overturn that rule following their $12.5 million award for the widow of a chain-smoker who died in 1996.
R.J. Reynolds paid a $5 million bond and Mills and three attorneys from Avera & Smith filed a motion challenging the constitutionality of the state law allowing the cut-rate bond.
The attorneys contend that Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson and Lorillard, are benefactors.
The cap relates to cases that relate to the Engle class action that set Florida tobacco victims against Big Tobacco. Florida Supreme … [Read more...]

Top News

By AMY O'CONNOR -- The new Florida drone privacy law could have some unintended consequences for insurers looking to use or insure unmanned aircraft systems (UAM) technology, reports Insurance Journal.
The Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act … [Read More...]